How to stay positive when things get difficult

Even the most upbeat of souls can struggle from time to time. For those of us who are experiencing difficulties when entering our golden years, or who are witnessing a loved one go through a tough time, it can be especially difficult to stay positive.

However, positivity is a balm that helps to get us through adversity, so it’s worth trying to look for the positives wherever you can – no matter how difficult that might seem.

To encourage positivity there are many things you and your loved one can do to try and maintain a healthy, positive outlook.

Meaning

People can struggle with this whatever age they are – and as we get older it’s tempting for some to think along the lines of they’ve “had a good innings”. But it’s important to recognise that entering your golden years doesn’t mean your innings has come to an end!

Staying connected

Staying connected with friends and family helps to maintain old ties and bonds. Heading to a care home may mean moving out of a well-known community environment. However, that doesn’t mean your loved one has to disconnect from their previous community. We have an iPad on site that’s specifically there to assist with Skype calls to distant family and friends, while, of course, we welcome frequent visitors to Goatacre.

It’s also important to recognise, that while your loved one is moving from one community, they’re embracing another in the process – with plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

Exercise

Another topic we’ve blogged on (with particular focus on dementia), this is again something that’s true for all walks of life. No matter your age, exercise induces endorphins which work to make us feel better.

Although, in our golden years, we have to undertake gentler forms of exercise, it’s still important to keep active where possible. This is something you can join in with your loved one when visiting, and one that will, in turn, boost your own endorphins in the process.

Eat well

Although our taste evolves with age and a decreased metabolism and slower digestion can reduce our appetite, it’s more important than ever to eat well to ensure we get the right nutrients and that we maintain sufficient energy levels.

Our team of professional chefs work with fresh local produce to deliver a delicious and varied menu for our residents. At Goatacre, we recognise the importance of a healthy diet on wellbeing – and it’s something we endeavour to deliver. Good food evokes mental happiness, providing our residents with something to look forward to each meal time and one that’s served with their needs in mind.

Sleep

Sleep patterns can become trickier as we age, with insomnia, night time waking and daytime naps more common. However, if you look to establish healthy sleeping habits, this can be of big benefit. We recommend avoiding any artificial light from screens for about an hour before bed, while we also take steps to keep our rooms as quiet and dark as possible.

It’s a nice idea to listen to music before sleep to help calm the body and mind, which is something often easily facilitated by new technology such as Amazon’s Alexa – with a simple voice command required to turn the music off, there’s no need to get out of bed to disturb drowsiness once ready to sleep.

So, those are just a few examples to help boost positivity, but you can help your loved one with many of these things, as can our care team at Goatacre.

The ageing process is inevitable, and while it can be tough, it’s important to recognise that this is just a natural part of our life cycle – and to view it as such. Our golden years are very much part of the cycle and we should do what we can to enjoy them. Taking the right steps to ensure positivity can really help with this.